I spent a few days in Amsterdam, helping Karen with house work and preparing for an adventure in Berlin. I went out drinking two nights in a row with Giulia. I felt as if I couldn't make art with Karen in town, and so close to traveling, and being with Giulia was the next best thing. On the second night out, we went bar hopping with her friend Bart, who has had an incredible career printing band shirts for the past 30 years. We stayed out until 4 and closed a bar down. We and another gentleman were invited onto a canal boat by a fellow bar patron, Robbie. We follwed him to his house boat, located directly across the street from the bar. Robbie lived in the canal boat with his lady friend, Bonnie, and his two beautiful german shepards. The living space was clean, and casual. The gentleman, Bart, and Robbie passed a guitar around and sang Dutch folk tunes. In the morning, Giulia and I shared a lovely english breakfast. I bought a gorgeous backpack for my travels to Berlin. I packed a few pairs of clothes, and minimal art supplies, then headed out to visit the library before boarding a train. At the library, I planned my route to Berlin. I chose to depart around 9pm, as I would then arrive in Berlin the following morning at 11am. What I failed to notice however, was a five hour layover in a town on the Netherlands/German border called Venlo.
I arrived in Venlo at 1am. It was the last stop, so all of the passengers got off the train and went their respective ways. I stayed in the station for a short time, looking at times for departing traIns. There were no departing trains listed, as the station was due to close in a half hour. I took a walk around the town. I found it very charming. There were a number of pubs open, and a shoarma restaurant. I had a kebab as a late dinner. The town shut down promptly at 2am. I walked back to the closed train station to weigh my options. Pulling out a map, I noticed that I was just a few miles from the German border, so I set out on a long walk to bridge some time. It was a peaceful experience walking with a pack full of essantials in the middle of the night, alone, in the outskirts of a town that I knew little about. Upon crossing the border into Germany, I gave a greeting shout. I thought I might walk to the next rain station to keep my path linear, but upon lookiong at the map, realized that I was currently only a third of the way there. I was beginning to feel fatigued and thirsty. I took in my surroundings, and expressed gratitude before turning back. When I returned to the station, I felt just short of collapsing. I saw a few others on benches outside of the station in the same circumstance as me, waiting for a morning train. I set my pack down and rested my head on it. It didn't take long to fall asleep. I awoke cold. I opened my pack and put on another pair of pants. It was 4:30am, and my train was to arrive within an hour. I paced aorund the station, in efforts to stay warm. The station opened and I boarded my next train. I had two more transfers before arriving in Berlin. I slept on each train.
I was taken aback by the scale of the Hauptbahnhof Station, a feeling that continues in my exploration of Berlin. I called a hostel called Baxpax and walked a few blocks to it. I checked into a room with four beds. Prior to arriving in Berlin, I'd arranged to meet with Berliners in interest of subletting their respective flats. My first appointment was to see a studio/living space on the west side of town. It sounded from our correspondance that there would be an individual waiting in an office for my arrival. Upon arriving, I recognized the building as the one which we'd discussed, but found no one on premesises. Further, the building seemed in at odds with the environment around it asthetically and environmentally. It seemed casual while everything surrounding seemed formal. I left for my next appointment in the Gesundbrunnen neighboorhood. The apartment tenant was a journalist and poet. Her name was Astrid. She'd lived in the flat for a number of years, and had in that time, installed plenty of shelves for her extensive library. The floors were wooden and the living sapce featured large windows which let in plenty of natural light. there were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen, each of which had an old apartment feel. I was happy to be in the space and asked her questions about how she spends her time in the apartment and where she buys her food. I left the apartment feeling good about our meeting.
The following day, Astrid emailed me telling that she'd showed the apartment to two other couples, but she would prefer I live there. I responded that I agreed. I will move in to the apartment on Wednesday mornining.
I went on a walk that night, and met Viviana, a visual artist who makes film and photo works. She was working as a tour guide for an art installation that I stumbled across called Monster Kabnett. The tour was a bit cheesy, but the art installition was incredibly substantial. It featured several animatronic creatures which prefomed acts tthroughout. After the tour, I talked with Viviana, Pujo, and Hannes, the artist about the show. Viviana gave me her card and recommended that I meet her at a show that night. I went to the show. It took place in a venue called Mindpirates, which was a converted industrial space. The room was on the fifth floor. It was large, with vaulted ceilings. Art hung on every wall. In the center of the room, there hung a suspended lace cloth, with dried branches hanging upside-down from it. On the floor, there laid several large sewn canvas pillows, stuffed with barley stalks and hay. The room was lit by over one hundraed candles. A band played, sitting centered of the room, intermittently spaced in the room. The attendees, layed all aound the room. They were smoking, drinking, talking, laughing, kisssing, and feeling. It was a very sexy room to walk into. I saw Viviana there and met her friend Christine, who explained to me her opinions on Berlin and what becoming a Berlinner means. I lost track of time at the show, and stayed at the venue until 6am.
